Disaster In A Bright Blue Sky

ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) The 95th BG's B-17F "Zoot Suiters" encounters Me-410 twin-engine fighters en route to Münster on 10 Oct. 1943. (2) 100th BG B-17Fs high en route to Münster before fighters and flak destroyed their formation. (3) 390th BG B-17Fs return to base after bombing Münster. (4) Members of the crew of the only 100th BG B-17 to return from the 10 Oct. 1943 Münster raid get a briefing from their pilot before boarding "Rosie's Riveters."

SGT Wayne Dunn Amn (Join to see) LTC John Moncure SGT J.D. Corr SPC Lisa Hughes MIDN CAPT (Join to see) MSgt Guillermo Ybarra III CPO Linda Aberdeen MSgt Dr. Elizabeth Masaniai, Ed.D. Lynn Maj (Join to see) SPC Bill Bailey CPT Wayne Douet CPL Ricoh Stinson MSgt James Parker

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Well the Air Force enjoyed the reputation of being the "glamor boys" when they arrived in England. But the 8th Air Force paid for their place with a lot of casualties. I believe that over 30% of the 8th wound up as casualties. The Germans were technically brilliant, and both sides were engaged in the "Wizard War" to employ radar and electronic counter-measures to hide from radar. Eventually the Germans were forced to devote over one third of their resources to air defense because of the combined day-night efforts of the U.S. 8th Air Force and the British Bomber Command. And despite bombing at night, the British Bomber Command also took terrible casualties, losing hundreds of their bombers and crews. The bomber crews were fighting in terrible conditions over 8 miles high, breathing oxygen, forced to wear electrically-heated suits to avoid frostbite, with wounds frozen by the cold and casualties forced to endure hours of air time before landing to get medical attention.